Based on our first experiment, tert-butyl alcohol which is tertiary alcohol gave the positive result immediately. Both 2-butanol and Cyclohexanol are secondary alcohol and made the solution turned milky from colourless. The one which contained 1-butanol, primary alcohol, didn’t show any clear observation such as colour change or precipitate form. The reaction that the reagents in Lucas test undergo is SN1 nucleophilic substitution. Only alcohol that can generate stable carbocation intermediate will undergo this reaction. The acid catalyst activates the OH group of the alcohol by protonating the oxygen atom. Then, the C-OH2+ bond break to generate the carbocation, which in turn to reacts with the chloride ion to generate an alkyl halide product.
